Keryn organised an antenatal group catch-up at Staglands, a wildlife reserve north of Upper Hutt. The wildlife are largely farm animals with a few exotic birds and some native species as well. It was a cold morning when we set out and we were all wrapped up in our cosy clothes, Alayna wearing a too-large […]
9 months, part 2
Continuing the 9 months theme here are a couple more photos taken this month. First up is a shot from another weekend visit to Zealandia. Again we’d walked the Round the Lake track and much like last time saw lots of birdlife even with Alayna loudly burbling away most of the time. There were a […]
From Bethells to the Zoo via the ‘Tron
We’ve had a good extended Queen’s Birthday weekend up north. Travis recently turned 40 so we stayed with him for a couple of nights along with Phil and Elaine who had come down from Whangarei for a couple of days. Taking advantage of some wonderful weather we had a family outing to Bethells Beach where […]
Getting Crafty
It’s finished! For the last 7 months I have been working on a Zoo playmat for Alayna and the final finishes were completed on Saturday. Back in my long distant past I use to do a lot of crafts; sewing, knitting, cross stitch, making teddy bears and other bits and pieces. For various reasons I […]
Mothers Day
This mothers day Keryn had a good sleep-in, a bubble bath and breakfast made for her. Unfortunately she also had quite the cold with a scratchy and sore throat so the sleep in was needed and couldn’t be enjoyed. Alayna and I kept each other entertained to allow Keryn some peace and rest. Outside it […]
Easter Weekend
Easter weekend has been quite relaxed so far. My football was postponed on Friday due to the preceding week of rain so we were able to head out for a walk. Kaitoke was the chosen destination. We had lunch at a picnic table in the glade where a lot of the filming of Rivendell was […]
Summer play and a walk
It was a lovely summers day so after a bit of a play around in the morning it was outdoors for a walk in the afternoon. The nappy box turned into a castle which was just about large enough for Alayna to comfortably sit in. Alayna was quite serious as she slowly inspected her new […]
and baby makes three
A week ago Keryn gave birth to our baby girl. Alayna Bailey Huia Doran arrived at 5:35pm on Sunday 8th September and was a healthy 3.96 kgs. This past week has been an interesting and steep learning curve, as I’m sure all new parents will attest. The following is a photo essay of our first […]
Keryn’s nearly there
Move the cursor over the image to see how things have been progressing. [photonav url=’https://2kiwis.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Progression.jpg’ container_height=’500′ position=’left’] At 40 weeks now so it won’t be long!
Tiritiri Matangi Island
I’ve been wanting to visit Tiritiri Matangi Island for a long time and our recent trip up to Auckland for the Elbow concert gave us a perfect opportunity. It’s possible to visit the island as part of a day trip but we decided to stay the night. There is a DOC managed bunk-house on the […]
Maungatautari
Recently we had the chance to visit the Maungatautari Ecological Island, a mountain in the Waikato that has 47km of fencing to keep predators out. Our visit was quite short but we saw enough to know we’ll be back. Much like Zealandia the predator eradication and fencing has allowed a sanctuary for native wildlife to […]
The difference of a day
Yesterday was calm and cool with a lovely sunset. Today the sun was hidden by rain clouds in the afternoon that turned to snow clouds as the evening came in. We stood inside watching the snow come down, taking a few photographs from the warmth of the doorway. As it got heavier we decided (perhaps […]